Manufacture of milk-sugar



RUSSELL WILLIAM; ll/LUMFDRD, OF NET/V YOTIK. N. Y ASSIGNOR TO REFINING PROD- 'UCTS COIttPOB/ATIOIEQ, OF WILMINGTON. DELAWARE. A CORPORATION OF DELA- 'WARE.

MANUFACTURE i senses.

No Drawing. Application filed July 2.

.0 all whom a! may coo/corn.

Be it known that i. llUssrLL \l'uamm v lvlrmronn, a citizen oi the United States, re-

as possible, is then mixed with a. small proportion of a decolorizing carbon or vegetable black prepared by slow carbonization of vegetable matter in such a manner as to give a granular open-textured open-pared material, such whey being thereafter sepa rated from the vegetable black, concentrattul and crystallized; all as'more fully hereinafter set forth and as claimed.

Milk sugar is made from the whey resulting from the treatment of milk with acids or rennet to precipitate the casein; the whey being the liquid remaining after the separa tion of the coagulum. Thiswhey contains on an average from 4.5 to 5 per cent. of milk sugar, some proteids, ash and, men ally, a small amount of fat.

In ractice it is highly desirable to separate t e impurities and residual fat for the sake of the refined white milk sugar. If.

these impurities are not effectually removed, the sugar is apt to become yellow and discolored and acquire odor on standing. in the ordinary process of manufacture the whey is heated to about 160 to 185 F. and then neutralized; neutralization being usually with a little lime. The neutralized liquid is then boiled. "This treatment coagulates albuminoids and impurities, and. in part, removes other suspended impurities with the coagulum; The liquid is filtered and is then evaporated in mouo to make. crystallized milk sugar or lactose.

Tlhisproduct, however, still contains some impurities and has a brown or yellow color. It is the custom to redissolvc this crude brown milk sugar, purify the solution and then send it through boneblack to remove the color. I

In the above described treatment of the Specification of Letters Fatent.

0 MILK-SUGAR.

Patented Jan. 235, 1923i.

1917. sci-m1 No. 175.294.

carbons T can produce a pure article of milk sugar \Yliill tower and simpler operations I than those used in the present art, in that I can. omit the tinalv boneblack treatment and ri crystallization.

l have found that by treating a purified whey with a small percentage of vegetable black, the non-sugar impurities, and particularly the coloring matters are taken up. liy now filter pressing the mixture, I obtain a decolorized milk sugar syrup which can be directly emporated and crystallized to n'iake a permanent white milk sugar. I find it is however much better to,usc a particuiar type of vegetable carbon or decolorant, since this superadds other functions to the decolorizing function just stated; these other functions being even more important.

This decolorant I produce by a special method of charring vegetable matters, such as peat or sawdust, as more fully set forth in my copending application, Serial No. 167,971. Briefly stated, the method asdisclosed in the said application in an advantageous embodiment, is to treat 'peat or saw dust or other vegetable matter with a highly colloid material, like starch, in the event that such vegetable materlal does not already contain a sufiicient amount of colloid.

materials. The vegetable material in a granulated form is then mixed with grains of a material such as dolomite, adapted to act as a spacing agent and also to evolve carbon dioxid or other purifying continuously throughout a wide temperature range. The mixture is then slowly heated in a vented retort.- Under the action of the heat, the moisture is first expelled, taking with it various volatile matters and putling up the vegetable material and rendering it porous. giving off various vapors and gases. Because of the presence of the mineral spacing agent, these vapors and gases are atiorded atroppOrtunitj to escape without in their turn undergoing decomposition in the presence of the grains of vegetable matter. As the charring goes on the dolomite begins to Then the material chars slightly','

ill)

Cir

the material is dumped into water and washed. The ultimate material is a ranular carbon having'open pores representing, more or less closely, the cellular structure or the original material before carbonization. Tt is vastly more open-textured thancharcoal in which, in the usual methods of making charcoal, the pores are closed and sealed by the deposition of carbon in them. W hen woodis first charred in making charcoal, the vapors and gases accumulate in the pores where they are in turn carbonized, depositing carbon and closing the pores. This is desirable in making charcoal where a hard, dense product is wanted. In the present material, the effort is to have open pores.

This material unites a number of properties. It has a large surface area of a form of carbon which is very active in adsorbing or removing coloring matters from solution being unusually active in this way.

In addition, this material has the property possessed by kieselguhr and some other highly porous mineral matters of collecting or tlocculating suspended solids. In other words, this particular material unites the property of decolorizing with that of re moving suspended solids.

When this material is mixed with purified whey it not only decolorizes in the manner before stated, and in particularly energetic fashion, but it also tends to attract or flocculate suspended impurities. In the whey much of the impurity is present in a more or less colloidal form; in a form which is between a' true solution and a suspension.

The matters in suspension 01' quasi-solution are very effectively attracted by this decolorant. The decolorant not only removes the color of the solution, but it also collects and removes the suspended impurities; and among them the minute globules of fat.

As a rule T mix from 2 to 15 per cent. of my decolorant (calculated on the weight of the liquid) into the whey solution, the solution being well stirred or otherwise agitated, for instance by the use of an air blast. Ten

3 to fifteen minutes under constant agitation should be usually allowed for the action of the decolorant, the whey solution being kept under temperature conditions usual in the manufacture of the, product.

ll wish it to be understood that no acidi lying of the milk sugar solution prior to mining my decolorant with it is necessary, andno particular degree of heating or boiling of t e solution is required. My clecolors w-ilfl ant acts on neutral and cold solutions, but

slight acidification and heat may be used. if

preferred in the process of manufacture.

After treatment with the decolorant for from .10 to 15 minutes, the solution with the .decolorant is sent through filter presses.

The decolorant is held back in the press as press cake, and the filtered milk sugar solution which flows from thepress will be round to be bright, sparkling and waterwhite, practically all or its color and a large part of the suspended and dissolved mineral impurities and other impurities having-been removed by the action of the decolorant. This solution isthen further concentrated, sent directly to the vacuum pan and boiled into a refined, crystalline milk sugar.

The decolorant cakes in the press are washed with water, or sweetened ofi the resulting sweet water is very li ht in color and can be turned back into the process. The washed press cakes are treated with a dilute solution of caustic soda and \Vltli"(:lllute acid or with dilute acid alone, and are again thoroughly washed with clear, hot water. The carbon can then be used again.

lVhile I have described above the use of the vegetable carbon directly on the clarified I and unconcentrated whey, that is, the material obtained after the first clarification,

it may be used with equal advantage with rariouslmore or less concentrated liquids produced during the operation of making milk sugar. There are some advantages in treating these partially concentrated liquids in this manner. The process may also be applied to milk sugar solutions in the refining of raw milk sugar.

Tn treating solutions obtained by dissolving raw milk sugar, I add from? to 15 per cent. of the vegetable carbon to the dissolved raw milk sugar solution and allow the two to remain mixed and in contact from 10 to 15 minutes; the solution being well stirred or otherwise mechanically. agitated. The

' carbon is separated by filter press or other means from the solution, which will be found to be sparkling, bright and waterwhite; ready for evaporation and crystallization into first class white milk sugar.

As I have just described it, there is but a single treatment with the vegetable carbon but the carbon may be advantageously applied in small quantities at two stages in the manufacture of milk sugar, namely after having been applied to the clarified whey solution as above described, or after having been applied to, the redissolved raw milk sugar solutlon as hereinbefore stated. The liquids may be somewhat concentrated and once more treated with carbon in small quantities and for a short time. The treatment may be applied to thick syrup prior to crystallization. With this treatment, any slight cloudiness there may be in the concentrated or thick solution may be entirely removed.

to crystallization.

which compr iaaeenza hon may remain with the Whey during most er the pe'riod'of evaporation. finally-'fili ter the thick or syrupy material prior to crystallization, .i

While '1 have hereinbeforeistated tliiat' 'any "l cellular structure of theoriginaliiegetable" I find,litmatter of fact, that the'use of the particular-car bon described ante,gives resultswhich are," very inuchbetter, there being a diflerence Jinf' kind as wen-rs in degree.

What Iclaim is:---

a i I 1. In the manufacture -jot lactose or-milk sugar,'the process which comprisesmixlngf the clarified :and neutralized Whey with an open texturedgranular ,vegetable carbon pores, representing approxihaving open matel'y thecellular structure ara'ting the carbon and evaporating-the resu tant purified liquid 2. The process of making. milk sugarises producing concentrated'liquids containing milk sugar, mingling with an opeirtextured granular egetable carbon having open pores representing approximately vegetable material andagitating, separating method, I may mix the and, Without :The Calf-- ,to crystallization, n a prisesmaintaining'the liquid in contact with an open-textured" granular vegetable carbon mately the cellular structure ofthe original v vegetable material I of the original vegetable material from which it was made, i,

agitating themixture, se

' evaporat ng -to crystallization.

the cellularistructure of theeoriginal the carbon and evaporating oto crystallization. r

to crystallization,

,. ,teirtured granular vegetable carbon having open pores representing approximately the *material at one ormore stages in the operaion and separating the carbon. I i

In themanufacture of milk sugar from clarified and purified the 'process y'vhich' comhaving open pores representing approxifor I a time. during the operation.

p .3. In the manufacture o t milk sugar from' clarified andpurified Whey'by evaporation I the process which co1nv prises/minglin the solutienwith an open- 4'5 vyhey by evaporation 53in the manufacture of pur 'flk f a 'z'f from impure solutions of the same, process' which comprises maintaining such a solution in contact with an OPBHrtQXjilll'Qd granular vegetable carbonhaving open pores v representing approximate ly' the cellular structure of the original egetable material for a time, separating he carbon and then In testimony whereof, I afiix my hereto.

signature Russian wiLnAn moment. a 

